Hundreds Attend Funeral of Tennessee Navy Veteran Who Passed With No Living Relatives
No one should be laid to rest without relatives, but especially our veterans.
One of my favorite movie lines: “There’s some good in this world, Mr. Frodo, and it’s worth fighting for.” (No, Sam’s speech is not in the books!)
On Monday, WZTV Nashville alerted the public that the funeral for Navy veteran Lonnie D. Wayman would take place on Tuesday.
Wayman passed away with no known living relatives.
No one should be laid to rest without relatives, but especially our veterans.
WZTV’s post went viral on social media, catching the attention of big-name people who encouraged people to attend Wayman’s funeral.
The funeral took place at 9 AM at the Middle Tennessee State Veterans Cemetery.
In true American style, hundreds of people showed off to give Wayman the send-off he and all our veterans deserve.
The people filled up the chapel. People stood against the wall, as others had to stand in the hallway and even outside.
Hundreds of strangers have shown up for the funeral of a Tennessee veteran who died with no known relatives.
This is America. pic.twitter.com/zXFThK6aaN
— Cabot Phillips (@cabot_phillips) March 10, 2026
More people still coming pic.twitter.com/01E5qCdMdr
— Cabot Phillips (@cabot_phillips) March 10, 2026
As they prepare to unload the casket, a Chaplain offers a word of thanks to attendees. pic.twitter.com/EcUnhvtCjf
— Cabot Phillips (@cabot_phillips) March 10, 2026
“Look what happened. Hearts showed up to say, ‘Thank you, Lord, for our freedom. Thank you, Lord, for someone else who has served in uniform,” said the Chaplain. “Thank you for the example for the next generation. How absolutely wonderful. Let us pay this person, as well as ourselves, respect in this moment of prayer.”
"…today, we are able to claim our honorable veterans." 🇺🇸
Community members gathered in Nashville to honor unclaimed U.S. Navy veteran Lonnie D. Wayman with full military honors at Middle Tennessee State Veterans Cemetery.
A priest delivered a short sermon, and the service… pic.twitter.com/Fy5edxoUyY
— FoxNashville (@FOXNashville) March 10, 2026
A Veterans Affairs representative thanked everyone for showing up:
I think everyone here today knows that when the paperwork for Lonnie Wayman came across my desk, it was marked as an unclaimed veteran. But I say that’s incorrect. I say that’s a misnomer. Thanks to the support of our United States military, the good folks at Gupton Mortuary, and all the support I see here today, we are able to claim our honorable veterans and provide them the dignity and honor that they have earned.
You know, every day I enter the gates and I see all the marble stones, and I see them as individual badges of honor that were earned through that courage of service and the sacrifices made by our veterans and their loved ones. It’s a great honor of mine to ensure these hallowed grounds are open every day of the year from sunrise to sunset. So please feel free to visit as often as you’d like. Office hours are eight to 4:30 Monday through Friday. If there’s ever any questions or concerns, please let me know.
Here at the conclusion of the ceremony, we’ll be taking the remains of Lonnie D. Wayman down to section P, where he’ll be placed to rest. We’ll take the staff about 30 to 40 minutes to have his site groomed and ready for visitors, after which you can visit at any time you choose. We are going to conclude our ceremony today with a dove release out here by the flag poles. And again, thank you all for coming and thanks for everyone’s support.
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Comments
Sadly there’s gonna be many of these sorts of opportunities for the public, for strangers to step in place of absent family for decades to come. There’s a lot of Veterans who got handed divorce papers by a Spouse who decided they were ‘unhappy’ taking custody of the children often alienating them against their Father. These Veterans didn’t remarry and the failure of their marriage was an unexpected blow they couldn’t recover from. They will pass unnoticed b/c their family walks away long ago. Those who don’t take their own lives (over 140K have committed suicide from 2001-2023) often isolate themselves because their ability/willingness to trust other people and institutions was shattered beyond repair.
SOme people were discussing what they’d like said by others at their funeral
Dude A: He was a god man
Dude B: He was generous to a fault..
Me: Look, he’s moving!!!! 🙂
Typos are eternal here…
good on these people–the respect and gratitude of complete strangers is one of the highest honors human beings can bestow
regardless of their path to the end, their service to our country is acknowledged and appreciated–their life had meaning and honor
Agreed. I’ve done this twice for Veterans who were without any family in attendance, it takes an emotional toll in the moment or did for me. I’d like to think I gained some insights but really death is a path we walk individually to life’s ending. For many Veterans their passing won’t be noticed or memorialized outside of other Veterans and a few kind hearted people actually willing to make a small sacrifice of time to thank that Veteran for their service with something beyond words.
Beautiful. Very good people.
Fair winds and following seas, Lonnie D. Wayman. Turn into the port at the next light you see and be at rest.
BZ to all those who showed up to pay him respects.
America the beautiful
god shed his grace on thee
Call me cynical*, but how many other veterans passed unnoticed and unremarked? No disrespect to Mr. Wayman, but this smells like a PR stunt by the TV station.
* I’m not; I consider a cynic to be entirely too optimistic.
If they know, they care. Sometimes the media and social media gets it right. There’s hope that the young will learn from our mistakes and be better than us.
As long as there are real Americans there will always be people who will come forward to honor the men and women of the armed forces for their sacrifices and service.